Ashley Darby was seen with a hockey player but it was none other than Summer House’s Luke Gulbranson, who works as a hockey coach. Before her divorce from Michael was finalized, she was falling in love with Luke.
The Real Housewives of Potomac star revealed at BravoCon that her romance with Luke was more than just a fling, admitting that she was falling in love with him before the two called time on their brief dating experience.
Reality Titbit looked into Ashley and Luke’s former romance, Luke’s hockey career, and whether either of them is dating anyone else now. Fans are divided over whether the two reality TV stars should be together.
- REVEALED: Who is Luke Gulbranson’s ex-fiancee? Summer House fans are confused over the dating timeline!
Ashley Darby dated a hockey player
Ashley was addressed as being “spotted with a hockey player” by RHOP reunion host Andy Cohen. It was soon revealed that the hockey player in question is Luke Gulbranson of Summer House and Winter House.
“Do you think there’s a chance for the two of you in the future? You and Luke?” Cohen, 54, asked Darby, 34, on RHOP’s season 7 reunion. “Um, I don’t know,” she replied to him. “I started falling in love with the guy.”
She praised Gulbranson, 39, for the “really wise words” he offered amid her almost-finalized divorce from Michael Darby, including advice “to reinforce stricter boundaries.”Ashley also said he never met her two sons.
Luke Gulbranson’s hockey career
Luke is a youth hockey coach. He played hockey at Augsburg University in Minneapolis for four seasons, captaining in his senior year, but was injured when he suffered a concussion, which halted his participation on the team.
He was previously on the 2002 to 2003 men’s ice hockey roster in his first year at Eveleth-Gilbert High School. Most notably, Luke played parts of two seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks.
As a youth, he played in the 2003 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from his hometown. He later attended the University of Minnesota Duluth, Silver Skate Festival reports.
Luke made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks during the 2010–11 season, appearing in four games, before he was traded to Tampa Bay Lightning. He spent the rest of the season with the Norfolk Admirals.
In 2012, Gulbranson left North America and began playing professionally in Europe. He has since played for HC TWK Innsbruck in Austria, HC Bolzano in Italy, and HC Sochi in Russia.
- REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC: Why did Oz restaurant close?
Ashley and Luke: Timeline
Ashley and Luke began dating after hitting it off at BravoCon in October 2022. They made their relationship Instagram-official following a trip to Gulbranson’s native Minnesota to meet his family and closest friends.
However, Ashley deleted the snap from her Instagram, hinting they were over. Then on January 8, 2023, she confirmed they were no longer dating, Page Six reports. During a WWHL appearance, she said ex Michael “isn’t too fond” of Luke.
“It’s not really about Luke, but [Michael and I] just have a hard time, period, with co-parenting and separating,” she told Cohen. “It’s my situation with Michael that affected Luke and me,” she added, saying that Gulbranson is a “trooper.”
Both now appear to be single, and it doesn’t look like Ashley is dating anyone else. The same goes for Luke, while Ashley continues to go through a divorce from her husband. The divorce has not yet been finalized.
WATCH THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC EVERY SUNDAY AT 8/7C
AND GET FREAKY WITH US ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND TIKTOK